Point the Way!

Yelapa's a village with no streets and no cars -- just cobblestone pathways with horses and a few ATV's. With all the winding around and unnamed paths, it's really easy to get lost. Thank God the townspeople are amazingly friendly and helpful.

After dropping our bags at the house, we decided to hike to the waterfall and have lunch there. We took a wrong turn right off the bat and found ourselves wandering. Almost immediately, a man appeared to help us. It scared me because after offering to lead us to the waterfall, he mentioned that we were staying at Casa Joanie. Who told him! For God's sake -- the place has no windows! Anyone could walk right in!

I quickly gathered that word spreads instantaneously by jungle drums in the small village, and I soon realized the interest was innocent. Almost every villager who approached us would immediately ask us where we were staying and I would hem and haw trying to politely avoid answering. And then they would usually reveal that they already knew the answer. LOL! Since everyone either provides fishing, whale-watching, or horseback tours, or their brother, cousin, son, or uncle does, they want to confirm your location so they can come past and offer their services.

In addition to all the helpful adults, one of the young boys in town frequently saw us wandering and would immediately ask if he could help. He would then run ahead and lead the way. He had no ulterior motives -- just a desire to be Yelapa's little one man welcoming committee. It was heartwarming. On Sunday when we were waiting to depart on our noon water taxi, there he was at the dock waiting for the next boat to arrive so he could once again meet and greet.

I guess my point is that Yelapa can be a confusing maze of winding paths, but there are helpful friendly locals and signs all over the place to point the way. And most of the signs are painted in decorative pastels, so I didn't mind wandering around taking photos.

Welcome to Yelapa!

A sign on the path for a house up on top the hill.

We missed this restaurant and cinema, but I love the sign!

Lupi's Bakery by day -- Brisas by night. She tapes her specials to the sign out front.

Dang it! I missed the fire dancer!

Welcome to Yelapa. Take care of your own mess!

Love this visual sign for no public banos!


Pretty sign for a restaurant that opens on Thursday nights.

Hmmmmm. Yelapa was home to Bob Dylan and some others back in the 60's. Wonder if Santana ever passed this way?

Little beach on the way to the point.



Need a room?


I love Yelapa. Don't litter!

Restaurants advertise their nightly specials on light poles.




Didn't want to leave on the boat, but I love this sign!

I'm not sure why this sign struck me as funny, but maybe it's the extra add on at the end. I also sell shrimp. Pick up some shrimp when you're fetching that clean blanket!

It's hard to distinguish which pathways and stairs in the village are public, so signs serve that purpose.

I can't tell you how many times we missed this sign and headed out of town towards the upper village. We couldn't find the stairs down to the beach. Finally, our waiter from the Yacht Club led us back to the sign and pointed the way.

I can't say we were much better at navigating by the end of the trip, but at least we knew the main pathways and locations of our favorite restaurants. And I left with a lot of photos of pretty signs!